5 Blue Jays who weren't non-tendered but will soon lose their roster spot

The Toronto Blue Jays are in the middle of an extremely important offseason for the direction of the club. Last winter, Daulton Varsho, Erik Swanson, Kevin Kiermaier and Chris Bassitt were brought aboard and each played major roles in the 2023 regular season.

This offseason is going to feature many of the same types of moves. With each addition, whether it be via free agent or trade acquisition, corresponding moves will need to be made around the 40-man roster. As things currently stand, the Blue Jays' 40-man is at 38 after the additions of Brendon Little and Adam Macko.

This means that two more players can be added to the team without there needing to be an exposure to waivers. However, this is an offseason where the Jays need to add, add, add. With some of the very biggest names atop their priority list, Toronto will need to strike hard and strike often. Surely there will be more than two moves made, so players on the roster bubble will likely be sent packing.

At the deadline where teams needed to determine which players they will (and will not) tender contracts to, Adam Cimber was the lone Blue Jays player non-tendered. Surprisingly, a few other players at the bottom of the 40-man roster survived this round of cuts.

Let's take a look at some of the players who weren't non-tendered, but could soon lose their grip on a roster spot.

RHP Wes Parsons

Wes Parsons signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays early in the 2023 campaign. The right-hander previously had made 33 big league appearances in 2018 and 2019, so that past experience was seen as valuable.

The 31-year-old has always had issues with walking batters and that did not change during his year in the Blue Jays organization. However, he continued to show a promising trend in his H/9 and HR/9 - both rates were down from what had become his career norm in years past.

A 9-4 record with a 4.55 ERA and 10.6 SO/9 earned him a shot in the big leagues. On the final day of the regular season, he came up and made his first big league start. Things ... did not go according to plan. In 4 innings of work, Parsons allowed 9 runs while striking out and walking 3. Going in to the start, it was already known that he would be 'held out to dry', so to speak, in this outing. The team needed to get as many innings out of him as possible.

Going forward, it's difficult to see where Parsons factors into the Blue Jays' plans. All of this past year, he was minor league filler, so the odds of him playing an impactful role on the 2024 big league roster are slim. He's a reliable arm to keep in the high minors, so if he is passed through waivers, it'd make a lot of sense for the Jays to keep him around in Buffalo.

RHP Trevor Richards

For the most part, Trevor Richards had a fine season in 2023. The right-hander filled multiple roles for the Jays, including opener for three 'starts', and continued to show the team-first attitude he has throughout his career.

Richards' season was a tale of two halves. In the first half, he was truly one of the best relief pitchers in the game, armed with a wipeout changeup that hitters wouldn't hit even if he told them it was coming. In 30 games, he had a 3.02 ERA with over 13 strikeouts per nine innings and held the opposition to just a .196 batting average.

In the second half, he struggled with injuries and when he returned from the injured list, he was never quite the same pitcher. In the end, he sported a ghastly 8.04 ERA in 26 outings in the second half. Hitters were now posting a .274 batting average off of him and he had seemingly lost his mojo.

At this point, Richards is far from a DFA candidate. His contract was picked up in arbitration for next year but he is set to be a free agent at the conclusion of next season. As of right now, he feels more like a trade candidate than an outright DFA. If teams buy into his first-half value from this past year, he may still have some value in trade talks.

INF/OF Otto Lopez

In May of this past season, Lopez actually spent a day on the big league roster, although he never made it into any game action. For the rest of the year, he was either injured or underperforming in the high minor leagues.

Lopez, 25, has an intriguing blend of contact, gap power, speed and high baseball IQ that any team would love to have on their roster. However, his production disappeared in 2023. He made it into 84 games for the Buffalo Bisons, hitting .258 with just 17 extra-base hits and an OPS of .656.

On defense, Lopez also has a ton of positional versatility, which only furthers his value. Just this past year, he made appearances at second, third, shortstop, left field and center field.

Currently playing in the Dominican Winter League for the Leones del Escogido, Lopez has been swinging a hot bat and, like Richards, could be boosting his trade value. In 10 games so far, he's 13-for-34 (.382) with a pair of stolen bases and an OPS of .980. If he continues to perform, he'd be an attractive trade chip.